


Boa Constrictor

by flitterflutterfly



Series: Tumblr Prompts [9]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Good-ish Orochimaru, Hokage Orochimaru
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 12:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3209765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterflutterfly/pseuds/flitterflutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orochimaru becomes Hokage instead of Minato. </p><p><i>I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawing frightened them.</i><br/><i>But they answered: "Frighten? Why should any one be frightened by a hat?"</i><br/><i>My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant.</i><br/>- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boa Constrictor

**Author's Note:**

> Anon tumblr prompt: _Orochimaru becomes Hokage not Minato. Totally up to you if you want to keep him evil, but maybe because of being recognized/trusted and being under constant scrutiny, because of being a Kage, and also because Sarutobi, Minato and then jinchuriki Kushina are not people you mess with outright, not mention Jiraiya and Tsunade, he ends up more gray then dark. Or maybe he and Danzo team up and things get much much worse..._

"Hogake-sama."

"Namikaze," Orochimaru greeted. He took a moment to relish in the sight of his greatest competitor for the hat now sitting on his head. Namikaze Minato knelt before him like all the shinobi of Konoha—all his shinobi—were required to.

But Orochimaru had been Hokage for a few weeks already and after the first few days of gleeful gloating, at least to himself in the mirror, he’d set about going through the paperwork and figuring out what needed to be done.

What he found concerned him and not for the first time he wondered where the great man who’d taught him and his teammates had gone. For the Sarutobi he’d once admired would have never let things slide so far.

It made him itch to continue his experiments, continue his path for immortality so he could head a better Konoha for eternity. But Sarutobi had made him promise, a  _sealed_ promise, that if he was chosen to be Hokage he’d stop most of his experiments. He didn’t have to give up all of them—it was after all his work extrapolated from Tsunade’s medical notes that had found the cure to one of the deadlier diseases known to the Leaf. But he’d been forced to give up on his quest for immortality.

He’d wondered a few times if it was a worth it, but immortality had only been a passing fancy, really. He’d become obsessed with it because he’d needed to get obsessed with a difficult project after the cure was pronounced a success, after the countless jutsu he’d created had been tested in war. It was either delve deep into another project or contemplate the absence of the only two people he’d thought cared for him.

But Tsunade was drinking herself into a stupor somewhere in the outskirts of Fire Country and Jiraiya was expanding his spy network in Snow. And both had done nothing more than send congratulations when he’d sent them the announcement of his new position.

Well, he had a new project to work on now, one that might prove to be far harder than the search for immortality. Because he’d always known there were problems with Konoha, but he’d never quite realized the extent. The first of which was solidifying the shaky peace with Kumo and Iwa. Konoha couldn’t afford another war, not so soon, and though they’d won in no small part because of the man kneeling in front of him… they didn’t have the resources to fight anything larger than border skirmishes.

Minato was too good a ninja to nervously shift around, but Orochimaru had to wonder what the man was thinking. 

"Come with me," he said finally.

Minato stood without a word. Orochimaru signaled for his ANBU to stay put—he didn’t trust them yet, not with this.

But did he trust Minato? That he had to figure out. After all, if he was going to fix the things Sarutobi had let slide, had ignored as they grew deeper into corruption and turmoil, then he needed a strong advisor and second-in-command. And if Jiraiya or Tsunade weren't willing to be there for him, he'd find someone more capable to take their place.

If there was one thing Orochimaru had learned from watching his mentor fail, it was that going at it alone had only led to mistakes. And though he was anti-social at best, Orochimaru also knew better than to err just because it would be more comfortable.

He led Minato across the city and, after making sure they weren’t being watched or followed, down into a tunnel he’d created several years before. Then through four more tunnels and branches corridors and doors covered in traps until finally he stopped at what Tsunade would have dubbed his bolt-hole, had she ever been invited down.

It was a smaller room compared to some of his other secret facilities, though most of those had been shut down. It was stocked much like a shelter, with dry food and extra weapons and clothes. He set about boiling some water with a quick jutsu and poured himself a mug of steaming tea, and then Minato one as an afterthought.

"Sit," Orochimaru said, gesturing to one of the long couches.

Minato sat, accepting the tea with a murmured thanks. The jonin’s gaze was sharp as he watched Orochimaru, but his expression gave nothing away.

"You will answer me honestly," Orochimaru said, weaving the compulsion in the air with a subtle flick of chakra. Though he hadn’t intended to bring anyone to this place when he’d built it, that didn’t mean he hadn’t covered the walls in seals and traps and genjutsu cavities. 

Minato would be able to lie to him still, he couldn’t actually force the truth without making it obvious, but it’d now be clear to Orochimaru if he did.

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Minato said, as if it had been a question.

"When you heard that I won this," he tapped the hat, "how did you feel?"

"Mostly relief," Minato answered.

Orochimaru blinked. “Relief?”

"Yes, Hokage-sama. It is quite a bit of work, being Hokage, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for it." Minato took a sip of tea. "A couple times I wondered if I’d have been able to handle it, or if I would have run off on some suicide mission just to escape it all."

Orochimaru stared for a moment and then covered it up by sipping at his own tea. “I see.”

He took his time contemplating the various paths he could take, but then he had already been decided, hadn’t he? Why else would he have taken Minato to this place where he could be assured they weren’t being listened in on?

"Very well," Orochimaru said. "Namikaze Minato, you will be my advisor. You will listen to my plans and aid them or you will tell me why they would be unsuccessful. You will the first to implement my intended changes and you will be the intermediary between myself and the other jōnin. In short, you will be my right-hand."

Minato looked amused then. Orochimaru wondered why. “Can I decline?”

"No."

"As you wish, Hokage-sama."

"Call me Orochimaru." He nearly groaned, hating the taste of that acknowledgement. "It’s best not to be stuck on formalities after all we have to cover. If you have someone waiting for you tonight, you will need to send a message. I imagine neither of us will sleep."

"That sounds daunting."

Orochimaru thought to the reports, the hidden agendas he had spotted, to the conversations he’d had. “It is,” he said honestly.

Minato smiled and for the first time Orochimaru could honestly see why Sarutobi had almost made the man Hokage. “Then I’m glad you decided to get a second opinion.”

Orochimaru sniffed. “Go.”

Minato went. When he returned, Orochimaru had laid out the most incriminating reports on the small table between them. If Minato could see what he had, then he’d know he’d made the right choice.

An hour later, as he watched the darkening of Minato’s blue eyes, he allowed himself a few seconds to mentally gloat. It might have been distasteful to have to ask for help, but at least he hadn’t lost his ability to read people. And with Konoha’s Yellow Flash at his side, Orochimaru knew he’d be the greatest Hokage. And everyone from the children to the most powerful shinobi would acknowledge him.

In the end, that was all he’d really wanted.


End file.
